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Case Study: Alex B.
Alex earned a promotion and expanded his scope to platform initiatives.
Client snapshot
- •A fintech data company serving investment professionals
- •Staff-level PM, 10 years in ad tech/fintech and data platforms
- •Eight years in role; perceived as "the technical guy"; stalled on promotion
- •Goals: promotion, clearer PM strengths, credible job-search plan
Starting point
- •Mixed signals: positive review but promo nomination denied
- •Wanted to improve manager relationship; 1:1s stuck on status
- •Low visibility with calibration committee; unclear promo criteria
Approach (8 sessions over 13 months)
- •Built his promotion case: clarified level rubric, gathered evidence, wrote a one-page promo brief with measurable impact, scope, and peer corroboration.
- •Reset the manager relationship: switched from pushback to inquiry, moved status out of 1:1s, set a monthly "career and scope" cadence, aligned on 90-day outcomes.
- •Fixed optics and narrative: executive-ready updates (Why now -> Decision -> Impact), stakeholder map, demo strategy to surface wins at the right forums.
- •Navigated process: identified promo calendar, decision owners, and pre-reads; secured skip-level sponsorship and peer signal.
Focused Work
- •Promotion one-pager + packet checklist
- •Stakeholder alignment and influence plan
- •Executive update template (5-slide "decision first")
- •90-day scope plan tied to rubric language
- •Offer-negotiation playbook
Results
- •Alex earned a promotion in the next cycle and expanded his role scope to platform initiatives.
- •His manager's feedback shifted from "technical IC" to "drives cross-team outcomes."
- •He advanced through multiple interview loops and got an offer from a tier-1 platform company.
What made the difference
- •Evidence-first promo packet mapped to the company rubric
- •Sponsorship and visibility engineered ahead of calibration
- •Consistent executive-grade communication replacing status soup
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